With Potential Addition of Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers Now Become Favorites to Win East

By Kareem Gantt

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Who said that God hates Cleveland? If anything, it seems like Cleveland has become God’s favorite city in the world.

In the span of a month, the Cleveland Cavaliers have transformed from a down and out team that was hoping to reach the playoffs to a team that is now clearly the favorites to win the Eastern Conference and one of the favorites to win the NBA title in 2014-15.

LeBron James, their hometown “chosen one,” decided that he was bored in Miami and wanted to take on the challenge of bringing the city its first championship in 50 years. And today, reports have surfaced that the Cavs and the Minnesota Timberwolves have a deal in place to send their No. 1 pick, Andrew Wiggins, along with last year’s first-round bust Anthony Bennett and another first-round pick to the Timberwolves in exchange for their franchise big man, Kevin Love.

The most astonishing part in all of this is that the Cavs basically improved their roster by leaps and bounds without having to sacrifice their core rotation. With Shawn Marion pretty much on the way and Ray Allen seriously considering making Northeast Ohio his next home, this is a Cavs team that will have no competition in the East.

The Miami Heat will be competitive, but they are nowhere near the championship level of the past four years. The Indiana Pacers‘ season was ruined by Paul George‘s freak injury, the Chicago Bulls will be relying on Derrick Rose returning back to All-Star status and the Brooklyn Nets are still too old to be considered serious contenders.